Trump promotes 'massive' Belarus potash deal to undercut Canada

US President Donald Trump said Washington was working on a "massive" deal to buy fertilizer from Belarus, despite Minsk's repression of dissidents and support for Russia's war in Ukraine.

Trump said on social media that the cost of the potash from Belarus would be "substantially less than we are currently paying to Canada," the US neighbour against which he has stepped up a trade war.

Potash is a potassium-rich salt mined mainly for fertilizer, helping crops grow and improving yields. Canada supplies most of the potash used by American farmers.

Belarus is one of the world's largest producers, but the European Union bans imports of Belarusian potash and has frozen the assets of state producer Belaruskali.

The announcement is the latest in a series of deals between Washington and Minsk. Talks led by US envoy John Coale have seen Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko pardon hundreds of political prisoners in exchange for the easing of US sanctions on Belarusian firms, including its potash industry.

Belarus remains a close ally of Russia and allowed Moscow to use its territory as a staging ground for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and more recently authorised joint nuclear drills.